Tejano Gus Garcia (July 27, 1915 – June 3, 1964) was the first Mexican American to win a Supreme Court case. Hernandez vs Texas made Mexican Americans a protected class and set a vital precedent for Civil Rights.

Book Drive for the Gus Garcia Under Ground Library at Raul Yzaguirre School for Success: donate copies of books from the K-12 Mexican American Curriculum BANNED in Arizona. http://www.librotraficante.com/Banned.html

From Trayvon to Marc and the Little Mariachi Kid, we’re seeing the worst America has to offer when it comes to public commentary. People aren’t necessarily protesting the Trayvon jury’s decision (only), but also the fact that it’s still dangerous to walk around with darker skin–or to even sing a patriotic song, apparently.

The other day, an alert went out about in my Sharpstown neighborhood about burglaries and what we should do as residents and neighbors–all good advice, like, call the cops and don’t take matters into your own hands kind of advice. But don’t you think the first thing that went through my head was that a target had already been painted on me and others, considering that one culprit was painted as Hispanic? Needless to say, I shouldn’t also be fearing my neighbors who might want to pull a “Zimmerman.” Especially if I’m just taking a walk on the sidewalk or at a park nearby.

I watched President Obama’s speech just now and he tip-toed around my point: That it’s hard to be someone with darker skin. And for anyone, especially those people fearing their guns will be taken away, to minimize that to something trivial shows how far America has gone–or failed to go. One can argue that the jury has spoken, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t change what juries should consider in the future. My argument will continue to be that it starts by getting involved in your community and voting.